He noted that, compared to trucks, railroads typically move four times more freight per gallon of fuel while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, since "SmartWay" began in 2004, its 3,000 members have saved 65 million barrels of oil, eliminated 28 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and reduced 478,000 tons of nitrogen dioxide and 22,000 tons of particulate matter.